If you are planning to buy or develop land, it’s important to be aware of the various land use laws that may apply to it. These laws include easements, zoning laws, and eminent domain, and they can impact what you can do with a given piece of property.
In this article, we’ll explain the difference between each of these types of land use laws and how they can impact your plans for a plot of real estate.
Some real estate contracts may include a right of first refusal (ROFR). ROFR grants an interested party—such as a potential home buyer or a company leasing commercial space—the right to be considered to lease or purchase a property before anyone else. It has a number of ramifications for buyers, sellers, and renters, both positive and negative.
When a party has right of first refusal to a piece of property, the owner of that property must give them an opportunity to purchase or lease it before considering other offers.
Under Illinois law, homeowners have protections in place to prevent the loss of their primary residence when creditors collect on debts. The Illinois homestead exemption allows homeowners to exempt up to $15,000 of equity ($30,000 for married couples) from collection attempts from creditors, potentially preventing the seizure, foreclosure, and sale of their home.
When collecting on debts from individuals, one option to satisfy those debts is their real estate, such as a house or condo. This is especially true if they have used this property as collateral, such as in a mortgage. In those cases, it’s typical to seize the home and sell it to recoup losses.
Investing in real estate owned properties—or REO—can be highly lucrative, but it’s also risky. To get started investing in REO property, it’s important to follow some best practices when making offers and purchasing decisions. Here, we’ll discuss some tips to apply when starting out.
Real estate owned property is property that is owned by a bank and listed for sale. After foreclosing a home or other piece of real estate, the lender first tries to auction it off to the highest bidder. If it doesn’t sell at the auction, the bank retains ownership and lists it for sale as REO property.
A property lien is a legal claim on real estate property that grants another party some right to it. Liens essentially tell others that the property is being used as collateral in a loan or financial obligation.
Specifically, a property lien is a notice on a piece of property that grants someone—such as a lender or creditor—a legal claim to that property if outstanding debts or obligations aren’t paid. For example, a bank lending money to a home buyer in the form of a mortgage has a lien on the property being purchased.
One way to protect real estate is through a trust. Doing so has its advantages, but there are also potential drawbacks to take into account. In this article, we’ll explore the benefits and disadvantages of placing real estate in a trust.
A trust is an arrangement in which a trustee holds your property. This can help protect you from certain liabilities, such as legal actions, seizure from creditors, and some taxes. Trusts are a common component of estate planning since they help preserve wealth for your heirs.
An attorney plays a vital role in real estate acquisitions, improvements, and management. When choosing an attorney to handle the legal components of your real estate business dealings, it helps to know what questions to ask.
First, let’s look at the reasons why you’d want to hire a real estate attorney in the first place.
Real estate purchases involve complex contractual agreements, and making sure those agreements are enforceable is key to seeing the transaction smoothly through to its end. There are both legal requirements as well as practical elements that factor into whether a purchase contract is enforceable, and we’ll go over the most important of those here.
An enforceable real estate contract needs to adhere to legal requirements, including the following.
Some transactions are simply too large to handle with checks or other conventional means. Escrow services handled through a lawyer paymaster reduce the risks involved with transferring large sums.
At Hart David Carson LLP, we offer paymaster and escrow services to individuals and businesses throughout Illinois.
Whether you run a community association for condominium owners, homeowners, or commercial owners, it’s vital to know how to keep within the bounds of both your agreements and the various laws that pertain to your organization. There are various fields of law at play here, including real estate, corporate governance, contract writing, and more.
To successfully manage your community association, consider these five tips.
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